Road Map

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If you have any questions or comments, please visit the discussion thread 
Overview:
  • Estimated trophy difficulty: 5/10
  • Offline trophies: 50 (40, 6, 3, 1)
  • Online trophies: 0
  • Approximate amount of time to platinum: 100 - 130 Hours [Estimated Time to 100%]
  • Minimum number of playthroughs: 2
  • Number of missable trophies: A lot!
  • Glitched trophies: None
  • Does difficulty affect trophies?: No
Introduction:
Persona 4 Golden is finally out on the current batch of home consoles, after what seems like an absolute age. And boy, was it worth the wait! This 11-year old classic is still very much as good today as it was when it originally released back on the PlayStation Vita over a decade ago. If you’ve not experienced Persona 4 Golden before, then get ready to get embroiled in a classic whodunnit, and get to know some of the most likeable characters in video games.

Persona 4 Golden took everything that needed work from Persona 3 and reworked it. It took the foundations laid by Persona 3’s new Social Links, and then took them to the next level. No longer do you have to grind through the incredibly samey Tartatus, now players will make their way through custom made dungeons, with tweaks along the way, and some great bosses waiting for them at the end. There’s a reason why Persona 4 Golden is widely held as a classic, and now you can play it from the comfort of your home on your current console of choice.

Walkthrough:
From a trophies perspective, Persona 4 Golden was pretty much the basis for all Persona achievement and trophy lists since, so you pretty much know what to expect here.

Yes, you’re going to have to fill another Persona Compendium, but thanks to some tweaks made by P Studio for P4G, it’s definitely less of a chore. And yes, you’re going to have to do another 100% Social Links run too. Again, though, P Studio balanced Persona 4 Golden better than both Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable, giving players a more structured calendar year. That means a few things: 1. Less time wasted on days where nothing happens in the calendar; 2. More and better ways to grow the Social Links outside of the events; 3. More days to do said Social Link events; 4. More chances to grow Social Links in the school holidays, and outside of class; and 5. Less time sensitive Social Links, and when there are time sensitive ones, you have more time to complete them.

On top of that, there are a couple of annoying ones too. Hardcore Risette Fan can be a pain in the ass if you don’t approach it correctly and prepare for it. We’ll assist you with that. And there’s also an annoying read all books trophy. And that’s annoying because there’s a few books that are a one-time only event. Miss them, and you miss that trophy for this run. You also will be required to do 2 playthroughs too, as one of the optional bosses require you be on New Game Plus.

So, with all that in mind, we’re going to approach Persona 4 Golden with the 2 playthroughs in mind.

The first playthrough will concentrate on three things:
  • The Compulsive Reader trophy_bronze.png  trophy. The reason for this is because when we get to our second playthrough, we’ll want to dedicate the evenings to things like making packed lunches and using the Shrine, with the days spent all about ranking up Social Links.
  • The Hardcore Risette Fan trophy_bronze.png  trophy. There’s two reasons for this: 1. Because of New Game Plus, you’ll make it harder to be underleveled for parts of the game - which you need to get for Rise’s lines. And 2. Because if you mess it up, you can try it again on your second playthrough.
  • And finally, the Mr. Perfect trophy_silver.png  trophy. This is purely because a lot of the Social Links are locked behind social stat prerequisite requirements that you don’t want to mess about with on your Social Link run.
The second playthrough will rely on a few things:
  • Completing all Social Links.
  • Which in turn leads to being able to finish the Compendium.
  • Finishing off the Card Collector trophy_bronze.png  trophy.
  • And beating the secret bosses, like Margaret and the Reaper. If you didn’t go for the True Ending in the first playthrough, you’ll have to do it in this playthrough as well, to get access to Margaret, and also the Hollow Forest (Marie’s dungeon in February of the next year).
Of course, there are a ton of other trophies as well, but you’ll get most of them with relative ease. The above are the ones you really have to work for, and while the list and the bosses aren’t tricky per se, you do need to be efficient otherwise a whole playthrough could quickly fall apart.

Playthrough 1 - Books, Risette & Social Stats
Let’s first talk about the Dos and Don’ts from the first playthrough then.
  • The sooner you start accepting Skill Cards in the end of battle Card Shuffle mini-games, and donating them all to Marie, the less of a hassle the Card Collector trophy will be in the second playthrough. If you do this from day 1, this trophy will actually be fairly breezy in the second playthrough. For instance, on the 17th of September of our first playthrough, we already had 48, and that was even without grinding them at all. That was just naturally getting them when we could.
  • You’re going to want to get to July 11th without going above a level 32/33, if you can help it. This is the date Risette joins the party as the navigator and the first date you’ll be able to start the Hardcore Risette Fan trophy.
  • Don’t level up Risette’s Social Link in the first playthrough straight away, until you’ve got enough of the lines regarding the enemies you’re facing and their strength for Hardcore Risette Fan trophy. This is because her abilities make it impossible at Social Rank 2 and 3, to get the battlefield prospect lines, like “Oh, be careful! This one's strong!”
  • There are 4 key dates for the Compulsive Reader trophy, which you will need to get books from. They are below, and as a result, we recommend choosing the soccer sports club and not levelling it up too much (just in case), so you’ll trigger the events on the following dates:
    • May 29th
    • July 15th (&17th)
    • August 10th
    • August 21st
  • We've actually prepared a list of Persona 4 Golden key dates which you can check out here.
  • And finally: spend all your time concentrating on raising your social stats. We spent probably 75% of our time in the first 6-months doing this, and got the trophy before we went into the dungeon during late September. This left us a lot of time to read the rest of the books.
  • You’ll also want to visit Nanako 3 times in November, from the 22-24th.
  • If you want the True Ending the first time around, pay attention to The Truth in Your Hands.
  • Same with Marie’s optional dungeon as well. Make sure you’ve 100% her Social Link by December 22nd.
Any free time at the end shz`ould be devoted to visiting the Chagall Coffee Shop in Okina City, grinding out cards that you've not yet unlocked, for the Card Collector trophy_bronze.png  trophy.

That’s pretty much it, in truth. Just pay careful attention to the descriptions for Hardcore Risette Fan trophy_bronze.png  and Compulsive Reader trophy_bronze.png , as they’ll be the ones to trip you up.

Oh, and once you've finished the game once, you can take part in the Miracle Quiz Finals and get the A New Quiz King trophy_bronze.png  trophy.

Playthrough 2 - All Social Link Run, Skill Cards, Bosses & Compendium Completion
Now, the second playthrough is a little tighter, and with the social stats maxed and the books sorted, you’ll be able to dedicate your free-time to this trophy, and this trophy alone.

The key to this playthrough as well, is doing each of the dungeons in one sitting, so if you prepare a Persona to smash through this (the Compendium, like the registered Skill Cards, count across New Game Plus playthroughs) who has no weaknesses, and then use Skill Cards to give them all the elements, you should be unstoppable for most of the game. 

I used a Lamia (from the Hermit Arcana) as she has no weaknesses, and I fused her with 3 other Skill Cards. She starts with an Agilao, but if you get Zionga from a Unicorn, Bufula from a Ganga and Garula from a Kusi Mitama (using the Cafe in Okina City), you have a Persona who can carry a team on your own.

SP management is key here, so if you can stick on an Invigorate 3 on them even better. Here’s some tips on SP management:
  • When you get access to the gardening (as part of the main story), try and plant as many Tomatoes as you can, as these can give you 20SP in a dungeon (and each harvest produces 3). The seed lady can be found outside Dojima’s or in the lobby at Junes.
  • There are two vending machines in the Shopping District (one outside the Shiroku Store in the South, and one outside Konishi Liquors in the north). Buy as many TaP Sodas from the former and anything from the latter every week, and build a stash. It might only be 5SP per can, but if you have 100 cans, that’s a lot longer you can stay in the dungeon for!
  • Chests respawn in each dungeon, and you’ll find Snuff Souls, Chewing Souls, etc. in those. So try and grind those in lower level dungeons, only using melee attacks.
  • The Hermit Arcana Social Link will grant bigger discounts to healing in the TV entrance, so look to use the fox when it’s cheap enough.
  • ‘Recover HP/SP’ cards in Shuffle Time, in the later dungeons, can be massive boosts, so if you see one with a high number, grab that if you can.
These are handy regardless of which playthrough, but when you need as much time as possible in playthrough 2 doing Social Links, it’s far more important here than in the first playthrough.

Flying through the dungeons in relative ease will help create more time to spend on Social Links. Everything you’ll ever need to know can be found in the guide for the Legend of Inaba trophy_silver.png  trophy. Our last bit of advice is to save often, and don’t be afraid to load up an old save.

Say, for instance, you went to speak to Yukiko, and your Social Link wasn’t advanced, and you had a save just before. Reload it, and speak to someone else you can advance. Then, in the evening, either make a packed lunch to have with her, or go to the Shrine and pay for a friendship boost. That way, you don’t waste a day. The days are key for the Legend of Inaba trophy_silver.png  trophy. Like we said though, there is far more wiggle room there than there was in Persona 3 Portable.

When all is said and done, complete the Compendium. Kill the secret bosses. And basque in completing Persona 4 Golden in all its glory.

Conclusion:
As we’ve said, Persona 4 Golden’s list is a proper grind. There’s a lot to keep an eye on, and just the slightest slip in concentration can write-off an entire run - especially if you miss a book! So, again, save often (in new slots) and you’ll be okay. It’s not a hard trophy list, per se, but it can cause heartache if you don’t get to grips with the Social Links and whatnot as soon as you can. The fact that the second run here is just Social Links, means that you can experiment in the first playthrough if you want, because you’ll have a lot of free-time in truth. The second playthrough is where things get really tight and interesting. 

I literally have one more thing to say -  good luck! Don’t sweat it, just stick to the guide and you’ll be Golden. Plus, it’s a pretty fantastic game as well!

Persona 4 Golden Trophy Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed trophies
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50 trophies ( 1  3  6  40  9  )

  • Golden Completed

     

    Earn all trophies

    After having slogged through and earned “Hardcore Risette Fan,” “Card Collector” and beating the tricky optional bosses, you’ll have 100% deserved this platinum trophy. Congrats!

  • Fusion Expert

     

    Perform 50 Persona fusions

    If you’re going for the Thorough Bookkeeper trophy_gold.png  trophy, you will absolutely get this trophy naturally. After all, fusing the Personas is a sure fire way to create your ultimate sidekick. All you need to do to earn this trophy is to fuse two Personas together - or, 3, or 4, and so on. It doesn’t matter, in truth, how many Personas you use, so long as you fuse them together. Do it 50 times and you’ll unlock this trophy.

  • Special Fusion Expert

     

    Use 4 or more Personas in a special fusion

    Once you get to July 10th, you’ll get access to what are called “special fusions” at the Velvet Room. Special fusions involve 4 or more Personas, and can create some deadly results - well, for your enemy, that is. Simply fuse 4 Personas together, as per their specifications, and you’ll unlock this trophy.

    For instance, a level 38 Black Frost can be made by fusing together a Jack Frost, a Pyro Jack, a King Frost, a Pixie and a Ghoul.

  • The Nose Doesn't Always Know

     

    Experience a fusion accident

    When you take 2 Personas (or more) in a Persona game and attempt to fuse them together, sometimes you'll experience either a lot of luck, or some terrible accident - depending on the outcome. 

    That random happenstance I’m referring to is called a "fusion accident." It basically means that the Personas you're trying to fuse won't give the expected outcome, and instead you'll get something else completely different. Fusion accidents are incredibly rare, but if you're going for the Thorough Bookkeeper trophy_gold.png  trophy there's a good chance you'll get it (a two Persona fuse has a 1/64 chance of resulting in a fusion accident, while a 3 Persona fusion has a 1 in 32 chance). 

    If, somehow you don't trigger a fusion accident, then you just need to keep fusing. If, by the end of the game you don't have it, the best way is to create a save file, and then keep buying and fusing to your heart's content, and if you don't get it, just reload it and try again. If you do, great. You can still reload though, as it doesn't give you anything but a nice shiny trophy.

  • Persona Shopper

     

    Buy a Persona from the Compendium

    To get the Persona Shopper trophy, all you need to do is head to the Velvet Room and buy a Persona you’ve already registered - Personas that you fuse and get from Shuffle Times for the first time will automatically be registered. Grab one and get this trophy as a reward. You’ll no doubt get this naturally.

  • A Favor for Marie

     

    Register a Skill Card

    See Card Collector trophy_bronze.png .

  • Card Collector

     

    Register 100 Skill Cards

    One of the new mechanics in Persona 4 Golden is registering Skill Cards. Skill Cards are nothing new in Persona, and played a big part in Persona 3, but whenever you started New Game Plus in P3P, you lost everything.

    Registering Skill Cards in Persona 4 Golden is a way to get around that. It does mean that you have to donate your Skill Cards to Marie in the Velvet Room, but after that point you can then buy the card for a set yen price. All you need to do for this and A Favor for Marie trophy_bronze.png  is register Skill Cards when you get them from the Shuffle Time screen after a battle.

    If you need to grind Skill Cards, the quickest and best way is to enter battles you're overpowered in, and then make sure you end of an All-Out Attack. That will ensure the Shuffle Time, then you can grab a Skill Card if there is one. Remember, there are levels to the Skill Cards though, so you'll have to move through the dungeons towards the harder ones, after you've exhausted the lower level ones.

    Register 100 Skill Cards with Marie and this trophy will unlock. 

    If you're struggling come the end of your second playthrough, the Chagall Cafe in Okina City lets you earn Skill Cards when you visit its establishment, based on the Skill Card icon of the Persona you have equipped. You should ideally be doing this at the end of your first playthrough, after you've maxed out your social skills, got Hardcore Risette Fan trophy_bronze.png and Compulsive Reader trophy_bronze.png as you'll have a load of free time.

  • Displaying Adaptability

     

    Switch Personas 5 times in 1 battle

    There is a good chance you'll get this trophy naturally against some of the longer boss battles, especially if you haven't created an ultimate Persona, and have to flick back and forth between multiple Personas - which you'll likely have to do until late in the game.

    To get this trophy simply switch back and forth between a few Personas, 5 times in one fight, and you'll unlock this trophy. It's not rocket science, but it's as close as most of us will ever get to it. If you have one Persona who debuffs and one who heals, chances are you'll get this without even trying.

    Just as an FYI, it doesn't have to be 5 different Personas, just 5 switches.

  • Hardcore Risette Fan

     

    Hear 250 of Rise's navigation lines

    The Hardcore Risette Fan trophy is perhaps the most annoying trophy of the lot. It’s luck-based, it takes a while, and you can also screw yourself over a little if you’re too levelled when you finally get Rise Kujikawa in your party. However, there’s a lot you can do to make this happen naturally and not force yourself to follow a guide or write down all 250 lines that you hear. The below is a tried-and-tested formula on how to naturally unlock the Hardcore Risette Fan trophy without being glued to a guide or a spreadsheet.

    Key to this is:
    • Rise Kujikawa joins the investigation team on July 10th, and becomes the team navigator on July 11th, meaning you can start this trophy starting then.
    • Don't rank up her Social Link (even once) until you've visited multiple dungeons, as her opening lines are different when she reaches rank 2 of her Social Link.
    • You need to have Rise say lines when your party is weaker, the same level and stronger than your opponents, so a key part is not to be too levelled up by the time you get Rise. That makes the Rise and Teddy boss harder in the short-term, but it does give you more chance of getting this trophy in the long run.
    • You need to get 250 different lines in combat. Emphasis on “in combat.”
    • Lines do not carry across playthroughs.
    • You’ll get different lines for pre-emptive attacks (attack shadows from behind), normal attacks from the front, and when the enemy has the advantage.
    • Once you've got a load of the aforementioned opening battle lines, you can rank up Rise to rank 2 and above, and receive brand new lines based on enemy strengths and weaknesses.
    • Rise will comment on how many enemies are left too, when someone dodges an attack, when someone downs an enemy, or one of your party misses an attack and stumbles.
    • There are lines for enemies running away, you running away, and other enemies attacking you directly after another fight.
    • There are also 2 lines for someone being low on health, and 1 line for them being knocked out (with the exception of your main character, of course), as well as a line for over 50% of the group being at lower than 50% health.
    • The Mind Dice around B6F/B7F in the Secret Laboratory cast Debilitate, which is a great place to unlock all debuff lines (3 per team member - lowered offence/defence/agility). 
    • Use all your party members (this is a biggie!) and do the below on all of them.
    • Get all status ailments inflicted and have Rise comment on them being inflicted individually - there are 8 in all. 8 x the number of squad members (7) = 56 unique lines on status ailments on their own.
    • Scan for weaknesses (this Shadow is weak to fire, etc). Although these don't count towards the trophy, what it can often do though is trigger another Rise line. So if your squad is inflicted with something, this can be an easy way to trigger Rise’s line.
    • If her line gets interrupted by an All-Out Attack, it should count, but where possible, let Rise finish her line just to be safe.
    • Unique boss lines count towards the trophy. I unlocked the trophy during one of the unique lines during the Heaven boss fight.
    • And lastly, kill large groups with one attack, so, a group weak to ice, being downed in one will give you a new line (for each character). Same for 4, and 3, and so on. If you’re too overpowered for these situations, use items that do elemental damage for 50-100 health.

  • Going Nova

     

    Deal over 999 damage in 1 attack

    Definitely not as easy as this one was in Persona 3, thanks to the tougher Treasure/Golden Hands in P4G, but still definitely not a hard trophy.

    To get this all you need to do is to, when you're a super high level, head back to one of the earlier dungeons and use an attack that is an enemy's weakness. If you manage that you will absolutely smash the 999 barrier, and have a nice shiny trophy to boot. Not a bad day at the races, in all.

    I actually got this in Naoto’s dungeon, against the Dominating Machine on the 8F, who not only does a massive amount of damage, but also receives a massive amount too.

    If you’re struggling, keep grinding that level and powering up your Persona’s Strength or Magic with the Shuffle Time at the end of a battle.

  • Skilled Commander

     

    Perform 50 All-Out Attacks

    The name of the game in Persona 4 Golden, as it was in Persona 3, is to hit all the enemies weaknesses on the battlefield at the same time, so that they’re all down and you can perform an All-Out Attack. Not only does it deal great damage, it also means you have more chance of a “Shuffle Time” appearing at the end of the fight. If you hit one to end the fight, you’re guaranteed one. Simply perform 50 of these for this trophy - you should get this in the first dungeon, or early on in the second one.

  • Tactical Fighter

     

    Exploit enemy weaknesses 100 times

    Up there with one of the easiest trophies in the game. All you need to do is hit an enemy’s weakness. The best way to find an enemy’s weakness, early game, is to use a variety of different elemental moves on them. When one lands and “Weak” shows, it’ll then show up in your enemy information when you scan them. Hit 100 weaknesses and this one is yours.

  • Fill Your Hand

     

    Get 50 Sweep Bonuses

    The Sweep Bonus that this trophy refers to is when you clear all the cards at the end of a fight after you’ve activated “Shuffle Time.”

    In order to get a Sweep Bonus, you have to clear all the cards and be left with an empty slate. The key to getting a Sweep Bonus is activating cards that have a “1 more” or a “2 more” on them, and then chaining them together so that there’s nothing left in front of you. It does mean sometimes you might have to take “Half Money” and “Half XP” cards, but in the long run it’ll benefit you.

    The key to getting 50 of these is to chain them together. The actual bonus from a Sweep Bonus means the next Shuffle Time you get, instead of having to work with 1 card, you get 3. Making it a lot easier to hit the Sweep Bonus again. Easy enough, especially if you’re trying for it.

  • Grasping at Greed

     

    Defeat a Golden Hand

    Golden Hands in Persona 4 aren’t as easy to defeat as they are in Persona 3. They’re actually quite tricky. Instead of just roaming the floors like they would in the previous game, you’ll find Golden Hands in chests now too. 

    Not only are they a good source of money, they’re also a good source of XP. The key to beating one is to simply just attack them with your main weapon and hope one of your squad lands a critical, meaning you can All-Out Attack and win the battle. Using Rebellion (to boost critical rate) along with Rampage or Hysterical Slap (or anything that attacks multiple times) is your best bet.

    You’ll no doubt get many of these in your time in Persona 4 Golden’s dungeons, so don’t worry about it too much if you fail against the first few.

  • One Who Has Proven Their Power

     

    Defeat Margaret

    The Margaret boss fight, like the Margaret boss fight in Persona 3 Portable, is easily the toughest fight in the game. However, when comparing it to P3P, they aren’t even in the same league. Sure, you can drop the difficulty down to make it impossible not to win, but if you want to do it legitimately, then fear not, let us assist a little - although, compared to P3P, you can wade in with whatever you want here if you’re a high enough level. There are some criteria to meet before you can face her first though:
    • Be on a New Game Plus playthrough.
    • Maxed out Margaret’s Social Link.
    • Have slain all optional bosses (AKA revisiting all dungeons after you’ve cleared them once, and beating whoever is on the top floor).
    • Head to the Velvet Room (twice) on March 20th, until Margaret agrees to fight you.
    • Then, head to the top of Heaven to initiate the fight.
    This will give you access to Margaret boss fight. Unlike the original, and more like Persona 3 Portable, Margaret now moves twice per turn. The fight pretty much goes as following:
    • The first 10% or so are purely physical attacks.
    • The next 40% are severe versions of the elemental spells (Ragnarok, Niflheim, Panta Rhei and Thunder Reign). She’ll use these in conjunction with Mind Charge and Megidolaon. Like Margaret in P3P, she’ll absorb the last ability she used, and is susceptible to the opposite element (hit her with wind if she used electricity, and so on).
    • At 50% she’ll use Morning Star and fully heal. This is part of the boss fight pattern, so don’t worry too much.
    • She will continue this pattern until she’s back down to 50%, at which point she’ll change to Megidolaon (with Mind Charge).
    • Once she’s down to 25-30%, she’ll change to Hassou Tobi and Power Charge, all the way until the end of the fight.
    Again, like P3P, there are some rules too:
    • You can’t let the fight go beyond 50 turns.
    • You can’t equip anything that will repel spells/attacks, otherwise she’ll insta kill you.
    In terms of who to go with, Yukiko is a must for her healing. Make sure Rise has her Social Link upgraded to get access to her scanning abilities. Naoto is great too, due to her lack of elemental weakness. And your character should go in with Izanagi-no-Okami, as it has no weaknesses. Equip some big damage dealing spells and Mind Charge, and you’ll be golden… Persona 4 Golden!

  • The Reaper Becomes the Reaped

     

    Defeat The Reaper

    Compared to Persona 3 Portable’s Reaper, Persona 4 Golden’s Reaper is a bit of a cakewalk. However, you won’t be waiting around in a dungeon this time for him to show up. Oh no. In P4G, in order to start the Reaper fight you’ll have to encounter him when you open a chest.

    Every 20 chests or so in a dungeon, you’ll start to hear the chains of the dreaded Reaper. When you encounter the next chest you’ll be able to initiate the fight. You’ll know it’s working because before you open the chest it’ll ask you whether you’re sure you want to open it.

    The Reaper in Persona 4 Golden is a level 90 beast, and will often attack you with Mind Charged heavy elemental attacks. That means, lots of protecting party weaknesses. If you’re around level 80, you should be okay, although it is possible to beat it around level 75. Obviously, the higher your level, the better. And even better if you have a Persona that has no weaknesses, which at this point you totally should have. It’s worth taking Naoto with you for that exact reason.

    The best part of beating the Reaper is that you get an ultimate weapon when you kill it. In fact, you get one every time you kill it, so if you want to kit out your party with ultimate weapons, you better start grinding out those Reaper battles now.

  • Food Fighter

     

    Finish Aiya's special dish

    One of the most important locations in Persona 4 Golden is Aiya's Chinese restaurant, at the bottom of the hill in the northern Shopping District. On a normal day it can provide great boosts to a whole host of social stats, but on a rainy day it can boost 3 of them (Diligence, Understanding, and Knowledge). This is the key to smashing through the social stats as quickly as possible.

    To get the Food Fighter trophy you simply need to max out Diligence, Knowledge, and Courage and Understanding (Level 5), and then head to Aiya’s on a rainy day. Simply, really.

  • Compulsive Reader

     

    Read all books

    This is one of Persona 4 Golden’s more annoying trophies, in truth, due to the fact that there’s a lot of hoops to jump through, and a lot that can go wrong thanks to its missable books. However, if you keep an eye on the calendar and plan ahead, you’ll be okay.
    There are 32 books in all, all of which have to be read on your sofa in your room. I’d recommend doing this on your first playthrough, as that’ll give you more time in your second playthrough to boost relationships at the Shrine, instead of reading books, and whatnot.
    The key dates to this trophy are:
    • May 29th
    • July 15th (&17th)
    • August 10th
    • August 21st
    So read ahead below, to take into account what you need to keep an eye out for, and also, buy and read the Hyperspeed Reader book on August 4th, to double your efficiency when reading. And last but by no means least, make sure you choose the soccer team and not the basketball team. Trust us, it’s less hassle when it comes to this trophy.
    The 32 books, their availability, how much they cost and how you unlock them are as follows:
    Available April 20th from Yomenaido:
    The Lovely Man - 1,200 yen (increases Courage)
    Beginner Fishing - 1,600 yen (increases effectiveness of fishing) 
    Expert Study Methods - 2,800 yen (increases effectiveness of studying)
     
    Available May 6th from Yomenaido:
    Off Today - 1,500 yen (increases Understanding)
    Office Work Manual - 2,800 yen (increases Diligence when making envelopes)
     
    Available May 20th from Yomenaido:
    English Made Easy - 3,200 yen (increases Expression when translating)
    Easy Origami - 3,000 yen (increases Understanding when making origami)
     
    Available May 23rd:
    The Gentle Way - Complete Quest 18 (Speak to Avid Reader, outside bookstore) - Give him a Peach Seed (can get from returning to Yukiko’s castle 1F from a random chest spawn). Book boosts Knowledge and Expression.
     
    Available on May 29th only **MISSABLE**
    Witch Detective - Strength Social Link Event - NOTE: Does not happen if a.) Social Link already maxed out; or b.) Kou is above rank 4 at this point. No restrictions on Daisuke. The book boosts Understanding and Diligence.
     
    Available June 3rd:
    The Punk’s Way - For completing Quest 20 (Must have completed Quest 18) (Speak to Avid Reader, outside bookstore) - Feed the cat. Either buy fish from Tanaka on 5th June, or get the fishing rod and get your own. To get the fishing rod, get the pole from the old man by the river, and get a net from the woman at the shrine at night. Take the net to the boy catching bugs in the day, then catch a bug. Go to the bar at night, give the Tatsuhime Ladybug to the hostess, get a hook. Now go fishing and feed the cat with the fish you catch. The book boosts Knowledge and Expression.
     
    Available June 11th from Yomenaido:
    Forever Macho - 1,200 yen (raises Courage)
    100 Ghost Stories - 3,400 yen (raises Courage)
    Catching Bugs - 1,800 yen (helps catch more bugs when bug hunting)
     
    Available June 28th from Yomenaido:
    Short on Cash - 1,500 yen (raises Understanding)
    Expert Fishing - 4,800 yen (boosts reeling speed while fishing)
     
    Available July 3rd:
    Guide to Pests - For completing Quest 34 (Must have completed Quest 20) (Speak to Avid Reader, outside bookstore) _ Gain Hard Boots and give to Avid Reader - Sell 5 Thick Hides to Daidara Metalworks, which means you can then buy the Hard Boots and complete this quest. The book increases Knowledge and Courage.
     
    Available on July 15th/17th only **MISSABLE**:
    Poly-land - Strength Social Link Event - NOTE: Does not happen if a.) Social Link already maxed out; or b.) Kou is at rank 5 or 6 at this point. No restrictions on Daisuke. Phone call happens on the 15th, accept for the 17th. Say “I’m allergic to math” to get the book. The book increases Knowledge and Diligence.
     
    Available July 15th from Yomenaido:
    Man of History - 1,200 yen (raises Courage)
    Home Gardening - 3,600 yen (improves vegetable growth by 1 day)
     
    Available August 4th from Yomenaido:
    Changing Careers - 1,500 yen (increases Understanding)
    Hyperspeed Reading - 9,800 yen (boosts reading speed)
     
    Available on August 10th only **MISSABLE**
    The O-Cha Way - Strength Social Link Event - NOTE: Does not happen if a.) Social Link already maxed out; or b.) Kou is at rank 5 or 6 at this point. No restrictions on Daisuke. Say “Sure” when he asks you whether you want the book. Book boosts Knowledge and Expression.
     
    Available August 11th:
    Picross Rules - For completing quest 40 (must have completed Quest 34) (Speak to Avid Reader, outside bookstore). Need to get 3 Fashionable Dresses, which are dropped by Sky Balances in floors 9-10 of Rise’s dungeon. The book boosts Understanding and Diligence.
     
    Available on August 21st only **MISSABLE**
    The Divine Way - Go to the Lovers Festival with a girl (you’ll get a phone call during the day). Be in a relationship with a girl and go with them when they call, but regardless, Rise calls you anyway. You’ll win the book as part of the event. Book boosts Knowledge and Expression.
     
    Available August 24th from Yomenaido:
    Food Fight - 4,200 yen (boost effect of Aiya’s)
    Man-god - 1,200 yen (raises Courage)
     
    Available September 20th from Yomenaido Bookstore
    Sensei’s Friends - 1,500 yen (increases Understanding)
     
    Available September 26th:
    Who Am I? - For completing Quest 45 (Must have completed Quest 40) (Speak to Avid Reader, outside bookstore). Give the following answers: “Judo Medalist Names,” “How one should live as a punk,” “2 pages per pest,” and finally, “Me.” The book boosts Knowledge and Diligence.
     
    Available October 12th from Yomenaido:
    Farewell to Man - 1,200 yen (increases Courage)
     
    Available November 1st from Yomenaido:
    The Final Lesson - 1,500 yen (increases Understanding)
    World Class Bugs - 4,800 yen (allows you to catch more bugs)
     
    Misc:
    The Ramen Way - Eat 8 times at Aiya’s to get this book. The book boosts Knowledge and Expression.

  • It's Working Today

     

    Buy an item from the Capsule Machine

    If you head to the Shopping District on a rainy day, to the left of the Shirku Store entrance, you’ll find a Capsule Machine. Simply buy a capsule for 200 yen and this trophy is yours. It’s worth noting that it has to be a rainy day, as it won’t work otherwise - the rain unsticks the dial. Your prize, however, will get stuck, so when the owner asks you a question, be sure to say “Yes.” I received Dry Ice and 2 Chest Keys, so not a bad haul. Nice and easy trophy to get if you know what you’re looking for.

  • Lucky Me!

     

    Win a prize from the vending machine

    At the top of the Shopping District North, near where Saki Konishi’s parent’s liquor store is, there are two blue vending machines next to the door. They sell drinks, but also there’s a chance to win another drink right after thanks to a roulette machine. If you win, you win an trophy too. It’s 120 yen for a drink, and I literally won 5 drinks in a row after I inserted money for my second attempt. Pretty easy trophy, this.

  • Granter of Your Desires

     

    Buy 5 things from Tanaka's Amazing Commodities

    Every Sunday, from the TV in your room, you’ll be able to buy something from the Tanaka’s Amazing Commodities show - yes, the same Tanaka from Persona 3 Portable.

    On May 29th you’ll automatically be introduced to the show in-game as part of a cutscene of sorts, and as of that point, every Sunday you’ll be able to purchase something from the show. Simply purchase 5 things from the show and this trophy will unlock - you can keep track of how many times you’ve bought things by looking to see how many Prize Stickers are in your inventory.

  • Seize the Moment

     

    Buy a special croquette from Sozai Daigaku

    If you head to the north part of the Shopping District during the day, while it’s raining, and head to Souzai Daigaku (as the game calls it, or Sozai Daigaku as the trophy calls it), you’ll be able to buy the Super Croquette for 100 yen. Buy it and you’ll unlock this trophy.

  • Cooking With Gas

     

    Make 5 perfect boxed lunches

    At various points throughout the story, when you get home in the evening Nanako will mention she’s stocked the fridge back up. She’ll say something to the effect that sounds like “I went shopping today. The fridge is full of food.”
    Simply head to the fridge at this point and choose to make a packed lunch for tomorrow. This will advance time, so be prepared to lose your evening, but the benefits of it are that you can have lunch with a school friend tomorrow and gain a boost in your friendship. This is fantastic because you basically get to exchange a night for a great friendship boost - especially if you create a ‘perfect’ boxed lunch.
    Below are 5 examples of what to say and on what dates, to ensure a perfect lunch is created. Good luck! And enjoy!
    Thursday 12th May - Meat Stew
    Should you simmer it?
    “Simmer with a drop lid”

    Tuesday 24th May - Sweet and Sour Pork
    How should you make the sauce thicker? 
    “Use potato starch”

    Tues 31st May - Yakiniku Bento
    You ran out of salt. What should you use?
    “Use soy sauce”

    June 12th June - Potato Salad
    “What should you do after boiling the potatoes?”
    “Smash them while they’re still hot”

    Wednesday 29th June - Hamburgers
    “How should you check if the inside has been cooked enough?”
    “Cut a hole and look for the juice”

    This is a common occurrence throughout the year, so don’t worry if you miss these dates.

  • A Special Lady

     

    Enter a special relationship with someone

    As the description says, all you need to do for this trophy is enter into a special relationship with someone, which usually happens towards the end of their Social Link. It’s obvious when this moment is happening, as the game will warn you that what you say is about to matter. 
    There are 8 girls who you can enter into a relationship with, all of which are below (with the level that you can enter into said relationship) - and yes, you can enter into 7 if you like, there are no restrictions (except Yumi and Ayane, which depends on which club you pick).
    • Chie - Rank 9
    • Yukiko - Rank 9
    • Marie - Rank 9
    • Rise - Rank 7
    • Naoto - Rank 8
    • Yumi - Rank 10 / Ayane - Rank 8
    • Ai - Rank 6

  • Mr. Perfect

     

    Max out all social qualities

    Persona 4 Golden ups the ante when it comes to social stats over Persona 3 Portable, by taking the number of stats from 3 to 5. Persona 4 Golden’s social stats come in 5 different flavours: Knowledge, Expression, Understanding, Diligence, and Courage. There are numerous ways, of course, to raise these. However, the below is definitely the best way to do it.
    • Aiya’s is a great way to raise some of the social stats, although it’s random what stat you can boost on any given day. The Mabo Tofu Combo “greatly increases” Courage, the Chow Mein “greatly raises” Diligence and the Aiya Steak Bowl raises Understanding.
    • When it rains though, Aiya is at its most efficient. The “Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge” raises Knowledge, Courage, and Diligence in one sitting.
    • Riding the motorcycle raises Courage (you’ll get access to it after June 9th).
    • Defeating optional bosses in the dungeons you’ve already beaten (top floor where the boss used to be) raises Courage.
    • Helping classmates and answering questions right in class boosts Expression and Knowledge respectively.
    • Petting the cat outside Dojima’s boosts Expression and Understanding.
    • The “Expert Study Methods” book (available April 20th) increases gains made in knowledge when studying. Studying in the library when it’s raining gives you an extra boost to Knowledge.
    • Drama club helps raise Expression.
    • Eating dodgy stuff out of the fridge can raise your Courage.
    • Read books galore. Check out the Compulsive Reader trophy for books on what boost what - Hyperspeed Reading boosts read speed, and thus makes stat boosting more efficient.
    The above should be where you spend most of your focus when it comes to social stats (especially Aiya’s and reading), however, part-time jobs are also a great way to boost them too, and also you get a nice little payday too. Win-win.

    Part-time Jobs:
    Envelope Constructor (available 23/4) - Pays 1,000 yen, raises Diligence. Can work at the desk in your room.
    Translator (available 23/4) - Pays 1,500 yen, raises Expression (“Informed” Knowledge to start). Can work at the desk in your room.
    Origami Crane Folder (available 23/4) - Volunteer job, deftly raises Understanding (“Persistent” Diligence to start)
    Assistant Day Care Caretaker (available 23/4) - 4,000 yen, Understanding required (Mon/Fri/Sat and not raining). Take bus to get there.
    Tutor (available 25/5) - 10,000 yen, boosts Expression (needs “Saintly” Understanding to start) (Tues/Thurs/Sat night)
    Pub Dishwasher (available 25/5) - 1,500 yen, boosts Diligence (some Understanding required) 
    Hospital Janitor (available 25/5) - 5,000 yen, raises Courage (“Strong” Diligence to start) (Weds/Thurs/Fri night)

    Mr Perfect isn’t exactly a tricky trophy, as long as you stay focused. This, along with Compulsive Reader, should be the focus on your first playthrough.

  • The Other Self

     

    Obtain the Persona Izanagi

    This will be the first trophy you unlock in Persona 4 Golden, and is story-related. When you’re in the TV world with Yosuke, and find yourself outside of the TV version of Saki’s family’s liquor store, you’ll unlock your first Persona, the really cool Izanagi.

  • The Power of Truth

     

    Create Izanagi-no-Okami

    In order to be able to create Izanagi-no-Okami, the ultimate Persona in Persona 4 Golden, you need to have done a few things first:
    • Firstly, in order to even get him to show up in your fusion lists, you need to have completed the game and received the True Ending. See The Truth in Your Hands for details on how to unlock the true ending and fight the actual final boss.
    • Be at least a level 91.
    • And finally, to make Izanagi-no-Okami, you need to have or be able to fuse the following, as all are needed for the dodecagon fusion:
      • Cu Chulainn
      • Girimehkala
      • Izanagi 
      • Kartikeya
      • Legion
      • Mithra
      • Nata Taishi 
      • Norn
      • Okuninushi
      • Orthrus
      • Sandman 
      • Tzitzimitl

    So, once you reach July 10th in your second playthrough (provided you completed the True Ending) and you’re able to make special fusions, you can fuse Izanagi-no-Okami, and be ready to kick everyone’s ass with ease.

  • Moderate Bookkeeper

     

    Register over 50% of the Compendium

    See Thorough Bookkeeper trophy_gold.png .

  • Thorough Bookkeeper

     

    Complete the Persona Compendium

    This one, as it has done in Persona 3 Portable and Persona 5 (vanilla, not Royal), is going to take an incredible amount of time (and money). Persona 4 Golden boasts 179 different Personas that you need to collect. 

    Persona 4 Golden does, however, make things a little easier than, say, Persona 3 Portable, with small additions like adding “New” to cards in the post-battle mini-game, as well as marking cards as collected/new in the Persona fusion screen. That makes this a hell of a lot easier than it was in P3P. Thankfully!

    As there always is, there are multiple ways that you create Personas, and certain ways to unlock the fusion of certain Personas. Here’s where and how you can get all of them:
    • Fusion - Just fusing 2 or 3 (or more) Personas together at the Velvet Room. This is how you’ll make the vast majority of the Personas in the Compendium.
    • From Shuffle Time - This is a good way to get a large base of Personas to do fusions with. Whenever it says “New” on a Persona card, try and get it as soon as possible.
    • From Completing Social Links - Every single Social Link’s max rank has a special Persona to fuse. Complete all 22 and you’ll be able to fuse all 22 of these special, ultimate Personas.
    • Completing All Social Links - Once you’ve completed all 22 Social Links, you can fuse Izanaghi-no-Okami.
    If you’re looking for assistance in fusing all the Personas, check out this fantastic Persona 4 Golden Persona calculator here. It’s a lifesaver!

  • Fashion Plate

     

    Fight a battle in costume

    Super easy trophy, this. Once you get yourself a new set of clothes/costume/outfit, simply equip it and head into battle. You’ll actually get the Gag Winter Outfit from Teddy shortly after saving Yukiko from the castle, so you don’t even need to buy or seek out anything special either.

  • Head of the Class

     

    Rank #1 in your class on an exam

    Throughout the school year you’ll have to partake in school exams. There are 4 in all, and they happen every few months - with the first one kicking off in May. In order to rank #1 in your class, you’ll need to not only answer all the questions correctly, but you’ll have to make sure your Knowledge is of a certain level.

    The patterns of exams are usually very similar: it’s usually 3 or 4 days of questions (2 questions per day), and the last day is based on your Knowledge level (and your performance thus far).

    In the first 2 midterms you can be rank 4 in Knowledge and get top in your class if you get all the questions right. For the latter 2, you have to be rank 5. Check Mr Perfect for the best way to boost Knowledge.
    And finally, below are all the midterm answers:

    Exam dates and answers:
    9th May - 12th May
    • Overcompensation
    • 1 BC
    • Marriage Numbers
    • Soseki Natsume
    • Pythagoras
    • Olympus Mons
    19th July - 23rd July
    • Cheerfulness in a group
    • Balance Beam
    • Top answer
    • Meiji
    • King of Hearts
    • Pascal
    • Pis Pis River
    • The US Declaration of Independence
    14th October - 20th October (Sunday off)
    • Throat
    • The right edge
    • 40 minutes
    • All of the above
    • Black and white bears
    • Ostrich
    • Math Girl
    • Glass Jars
    • Fall
    • Plant resin
    28th November - 3rd December
    • Italian food
    • Geometric shapes
    • Khufu
    • Atlas
    • Bridal
    • A cuckoo
    • No country
    • The Fibonacci sequence
    • Namib
    • Mochi
    6th February - 10th February
    • Beta
    • Attendance logs
    • Toso
    • Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia
    • Rabbit
    • Turnips
    • White
    • The Sahara Desert sand

  • Fishing Master

     

    Catch the Sea Guardian

    Catching the infamous Sea Guardian in Persona 4 Golden is actually part of maxing out all Social Links and unlocking the Legend of Inaba trophy. In the Hermit Social Link tree - AKA the friendly fox who lives at the Shrine - when you get to rank 9, to max out rank 10 you’ll have to catch the infamous Sea Guardian (the requirements for all the other 9 ranks can be found here).

    However, this is definitely not straightforward and you have to jump through a lot of hoops. Let’s run you through them.
    • First things first, you need to get the fishing rod. 
      • Talk to the old man down by the river in the Samegawa Flood Plain and get the fishing pole.
      • Then, visit the boy at the Shrine (from June 4th) and speak to him during the day.
      • Return to the Shrine at night and talk to the lady in white. Answer “Yes” when she asks a question. You’ll now have the net (this is what you use to get bait).
      • Catch a Tatsuhime Ladybug.
      • Visit the Shiroku Store at night and give the hostess the Ladybug. You’ll receive a hook. Now you can fish.
    • You’ll need access to Shichiri Beach. You can do that by getting access to the scooter (June 9th) and driving long distances 3 times.
    • Buy and read 3 books: Beginner Fishing, Catching Bugs and Expert Fishing (all 3 will make things easier). You can read the World Class Bugs if you haven’t done this by early November.
    • Catch the River Guardian during rain. To do so, catch a Inaba Jewel Beetle (appears at night at the Shrine). Talk to the old man. Then, visit the sea, then return. Receive Deep-Sea Rod.
    • Catch Sea Guardian during rain (or snow) using the Genji Beetle (another night-time bug) - keep an eye out for the ginormous ripples.
    • Trophy unlocked.

  • A True Bond

     

    Max out a Social Link

    See Legend of Inaba trophy_silver.png .

  • Bond Maniac

     

    Max out 10 Social Links

    See Legend of Inaba trophy_silver.png .

  • Legend of Inaba

     

    Max out all Social Links

    It wouldn’t be a Persona game if its trophy list didn’t have a “Max out all Social Links” trophy. This kind of meticulous planning is at the core of Persona’s gameplay, so it makes sense to include something like this. Plus, it’ll unlock the amazing Izanagi-no-Okami, which will help you defeat Margaret too.

    The best news with this one though, compared to Persona 3 Portable, the timetable isn’t as strict. In fact, there’s not only a load more time and less wasted days to get this done, but there’s also some different mechanics.

    Firstly, Persona 4 introduces the whole “you feel your relationship with _____ is going to become closer soon” or “you feel your relationship will deepen” before you start a Social Link event. This is great because it means you can plan when everything is going to level up. That means you won’t “waste” a day just spending time with them. And you’ll also know what Social Link you’ll need to pray for at the Shrine.

    Because this is your second playthrough, you’ll hopefully have already unlocked the Compulsive Reader trophy_bronze.png trophy, as well as maxing out your social stats, which means you’ll have an incredible amount of free time in the evenings to do that. 

    So, first things first, let’s run you through a lot of rules you need to adhere to.
    • Always have a corresponding Persona of the Arcana you want to upgrade on you. So, if you want to level up Rise Kujikawa, you’ll need a Persona of the Lovers Arcana on you.
    • There are 23 Social Links in all:
      • 8 party members (Teddie levels up as part of the story)
      • 2 Velvet Room (Marie and Margaret)
      • 2 school clubs (Sports and Cultural)
      • 3 part-time job Social Links (hospital janitor, tutor and the day care)
      • 2 you meet during other things (level 4 of Sports is Ai; while level 4 of the hospital job is Hisano)
      • 1 random school friend (Naoki), who you need to speak to at school to start the link
      • 3 family members & associates (Nanako, Dojima and Adachi)
      • 2 story-related ones (Fool and Judgment)
      • And the fox. Yes, the fox... from the Shrine.
    • Don’t finish one link before moving on to the next, try and spread your time evenly, where possible, as you might need to see Yumi on a day when it rains, and you can’t if you’ve already maxed her out.
    • If someone comes to see you at lunchtime, that means their Social Link is about to level up.
    • Try and finish top of the class for your exams, to give all your school friends an SL boost.
    • Focus on non-Investigation Team school friends as early as you can, as you can always focus on teammates during the holidays, while you can’t with Ai, Ayane/Yumi, Daisuke/Kou, etc.
    • In Persona 4 Golden, if you get a phone call on a weekend, this time around you can actually level up a Social Link. This doesn’t mean every time, so save often to see whether it was a waste of your time.
    • Because you have evenings free, that means you can use the Shrine to boost friendship levels, or even better, create a perfect boxed lunch from the fridge, which again, only advances time in the evenings.
    • Save before you use the Shrine, and if you don’t like the outcome, i.e. a “small blessing,” then reload and try again until you get at a minimum a “mild blessing,” but ideally a “great blessing.” You can’t, however, get fortunes on rainy days.
    • Sports clubs don’t meet in the rain.
    • Social Links can still be done on weekends, which wasn’t the case in Persona 3.
    • You can boost Social Link advancement in evenings if the relevant person is out in the game world - a lot of them hang around the Shopping District.
    • There are no school friend Social Links before exams, so use this time to work on job Social Links and the Hermit (AKA the fox).
    • Certain jobs have Social Links:
      • Daycare job starts Social Link with Eri Minani after 2 visits.
      • Tutor starts S-Link with Shu Nakajima.
      • The Janitor job at the hospital unlocks the Devil S-Link with Sayoko Uehara after 2 visits.
    • Get the Devil Social Link to level 4 and you’ll meet the Death Arcana Social Link with Hisano Kuroda, who can now be found by the river.
    • Get to level 4 in the Strength Social Link to meet Ai Ebihara, and talk to her after meeting her when at school (if you want to pursue a romantic interest long-term, don’t become her boyfriend at rank 6).
    • Make sure you don’t break the Ai Social Link, which you can if you pursue a short-term relationship with her - there is a choice that can break the Social Link, so avoid that.
    • Margaret’s Social Link involves making certain Personas for her. Use Skill Cards and your Compendium to make them.
    • The Fox is a great way to spend rainy days, where Social Links are slim pickings (starts automatically on May 5th). So, make sure the Quests are all ready to hand in on rainy days.
    • Also, clubs, like the drama club (AKA Yumi), are worth saving for rainy days too.
    • Save the Scooter excursions for a rainy day too.
    • To start Naoki Konishi’s Social Link, after the event with him on June 8th, speak to him 2 further times in the 1F corridor to start the S-Link.
    • The three most important links to focus on in the early days are: Adachi, Nanako and Dojima.
    • Maintaing the garden when both Nanako & Dojima are there boosts both of their ranks.
    • You need to get Adachi to level 6 by November 1st (ranks 7-10 are all automatic).
    • Adachi can be found on the following dates: 
      • May 13th, 20th, 23rd, 27th and 30th.
      • June 5th, 10th, 11th, 15th (night), 26th and 28th.
      • July 2nd, 4th, 5th, 12th, 14th, 24th and 25th.
      • August 25th.
      • September 1st, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 24th, 27th and 30th.
      • October 6th, 12th, 21st, 24th and 26th.
      • November 1st.
    • To start the Naoto Social Link, you need level 5 Courage and Knowledge. Speak to the man with black glasses in the Shopping District, North (opposite Aiya's) from October 21st and receive a White Card - he's not there when it's raining. Then, speak to Naoto on the next available day.
    • Provided you don’t get the bad endings, February 5th is the last day for Social Links.
    Right, let’s now look at availability. As a disclaimer, these aren’t 100%. There will be things like the weather, the case, exams, and such, that will affect whether these people turn up. And this list isn’t exclusive either. It’s best to start all the links as early as possible, to get boosts from things like exams, and various other crossover interactions.

    Day:
    M - Yosuke, Cultural Club, Yukiko, Chie, Naoto, Naoki, Eri
    T - Sports, Cultural Club, Chie, Yukiko, Naoto, Naoki
    W - Marie, Yukiko, Kanji, Naoto, Ai, Naoki, Marie
    T - Sports, Cultural Club, Chie, Yosuke, Kanji, Ai, Naoki
    F - Yosuke, Chie, Rise, Ai, Eri
    S - Sports, Yosuke, Chie, Rise, Kanji, Naoto, Marie, Eri
    S - Yosuke (at Junes), Marie, Rise, Chie (Shopping District), Kanji, Naoto, Marie*

    *Marie will be available a load of other days too, especially holidays. Once you reach Magatsu Inaba, Marie will be available everyday until December 23rd.

    Night:
    M - **
    T - Tutor
    W - Hospital
    T - Tutor, Hospital
    F - Hospital
    S - Tutor
    S - **

    **Dojima and Nanako are available in the evenings too (the day varies from one to the next), but there is seemingly no set pattern, so just look out for them in the living room of the Dojima Residence in the evenings.
    It’s absolutely possible to do this without a guide, if all you’re working on is Social Links. While I failed in my first attempt with Persona 3 Portable, my first attempt at this in Persona 4 Golden was accomplished with some ease. If you do want to use a guide, however, check out this day-by-day guide here.

  • An Acquired Taste

     

    Drink the coffee at Chagall Cafe

    In order to get to Chagall Cafe, you need to get your bike licence and make your way to Okina City. You’ll get your motorcycle licence on June 9th, after a cutscene with Yosuke and Kanji happens on June 8th. In order to get to Okina City though, you need to take the bike out 2 times, and then on your third time you’ll end up and unlock Okina City.

    You’ll find the Chagall Cafe on the far left-hand side of Okina City, and every time you visit it, you will unlock a new Skill Card - if your equipped Persona has a Skill Card icon next to an ability. Drink there once and this trophy is yours - and yes, it costs 5,000 yen, and yes, it passes time. This will be handy though to unlock unique cards for the Card Collector trophy_bronze.png trophy.

  • Movie Buff

     

    Go to 3 movies at 30 Frame

    Like the An Acquired Taste trophy_bronze.png  trophy, for this trophy you need access to the bike and Okina City. The bike you’ll unlock on June 9th, and Okina City is unlocked when you make your third trip on it.

    All you need to do for this trophy is visit Okina City 3 times and go to the movies there with a friend. The movie theatre is to the right of the station escalator. You’ll get a nice boost to your friend’s Persona’s stats too, which can be very handy in the long-term.

  • Bug Hunter

     

    Swing the net with perfect timing

    To be able to get the net to go bug hunting, you need to effectively do a few things, first. If you speak to the bug hunting boy by the Shrine, just off the Shopping District street in the north (near Tatsumi Textiles), you’ll learn he’s lost his bug catching net. If you return to the Shrine at night, there’ll be a woman standing there in white, near the Yashiro. Speak to her and she’ll mention the net that’s on the Shrine roof. If you answer “Yes” when she asks whether you knew it was up there, she’ll give you the net.

    Right, now you have the net, return to the boy in the day and he’ll talk about bug hunting and will answer your questions. Then, head to the shade under the tree and click the action button. To get “perfect timing,” you have to hit the A button as soon as the exclamation point appears (it’s basically when your right-hand reaches the top of the red fence in the background. You can only do it once a day, but it doesn’t advance time, meaning you can take as many efforts as you like over the coming days. It’s not too difficult, in truth, we got it on our second attempt. This will be your source of fishing bait now.

  • Advantage Mine

     

    Enter a battle with Player Advantage

    Player Advantage in Persona 4 Golden basically means entering a fight by hitting the shadow from behind. It doesn’t matter in this game whether you see the red exclamation mark pop, as long as you hit the shadow from behind, you’re golden.

    If you’re struggling, when you get a Shuffle Time, and the “Avoid Encounters” card appears, grab that and it’ll effectively make you invisible for a short amount of time.

  • Big Bro is Worried

     

    Visit Nanako in the hospital 3 times

    **HIGHLY MISSABLE**

    When you get deep into November in Persona 4 Golden, events will happen and Nanako will end up in hospital. As of November 22nd, you and one of your teammates can visit the hospital and check in on your lil’ sis. 

    On the 22nd, you’ll have to speak to Yosuke in your classroom to initiate the visit. On the 23rd, you can speak to Chie in the Shopping District (near Aiya's) and go with her to visit Nanako. And on the 24th, speak to Rise on the 1F of the main school building to go. Once you’ve done all three you’ll get this trophy.

    It’s worth bearing in mind that these events will grow your relationships with the subsequent teammates, but if you’re short on time and going for the all Social Links trophy, you might not have time to spare. So, prepare a save beforehand and then reload the save when you’ve got the trophy.

  • A New Quiz King

     

    Win the Miracle Quiz Finals

    Once you’ve completed Persona 4 Golden for the first time, you’ll unlock the Miracle Quiz Finals, which can be accessed via the TV guide in-game (the old start button, effectively). 

    On Channel 3, you’ll see the new entry, which is a Persona quiz against other characters. Win it, and you'll unlock this trophy. Unfortunately a guide isn’t much help here, as the questions are random. Just brush up on that Persona knowledge, folks. And if the worst comes to the worst, if you play it 100 times, we’re sure you’ll know enough to absolutely ace the quiz!
 

Secret trophies

  • A Prince Appears

     

    Rescue Yukiko Amagi

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    Rescuing Yukiko is your first real proper quest in Persona 4 Golden, and will happen on April 18th. In this first quest, you’ll have to trek through 7 floors of Yukiko’s castle, where the boss fight kicks off on the 8th floor.

    To beat Shadow Yukiko and save Yukiko Amagi, you’re going to want to focus on her ice weakness. If you can have an ice Persona with the main character, as well as ice attacks with Chie, you can make quick work of this.

    When she spawns a Prince Charming, her sidekick will be weak to electricity. So, if you have Izanagi still, use it to focus on Prince Charming, while Chie uses Bufu on Shadow Yukiko - meaning you can still All-Out Attack. When she uses Ice Wall, just use normal attacks until it expires. As for Yosuke, he can deal normal damage while also being the designated healer for the fight.

    Two points to note: when she winds up for a big move, guard; and when she makes someone fearful with Terror Voice, try and cure them or make sure they have more than around 150 health to survive her Shivering Rondo attack, which hits very hard.

    I personally breezed through this fight at player level 15 with a level 11 Persona.

    The last date to save Yukiko is April 29th, so don’t delay!

  • A True Man's Stand

     

    Rescue Kanji Tatsumi

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    In the middle of May, towards the end of the month, you’ll have to enter into the TV world and defeat Shadow Kanji, and save his real-world counterpart from certain death inside the Steamy Bathhouse.

    The Steamy Bathhouse is 11 floors high, with the fight against Shadow Kanji on the top floor. It’s a pretty tricky fight if you’re not of a sufficient level - I managed to win the fight at a player level of 24, and with a level 19 Senri.

    What makes Shadow Kanji so difficult is his bodyguards: Tough Guy and Nice Guy, who have a decent amount of HP. What makes his bodyguards such a pain is that Nice Guy spends his time buffing their team, while Tough Guy deals damage to the party. Luckily, they both have weaknesses that you can exploit. Tough Guy is weak to fire, and Nice Guy is weak to ice. That means then that Yukiko and Chie should focus on the two sidekicks. The best strat though is to down them, and then hit them until they’re dizzy. That will give you some breathing space. Kill the two Guys first, and then you can concentrate on Shadow Kanji.

    Shadow Kanji itself drains lightning, so don’t use that. The key to beating him is a war of attrition. Dealing spell and physical damage, while staying alive from his attacks.

    In terms of attacks, he’ll often use Roar of Wrath to Enrage Yukiko and Chie, which allows you to deal decent damage to him, but leaves them susceptible to being 1-tapped by Swift Strike. So, keep them on maximum health or if you have some Physical Mirrors, apply them.

    His other attacks mainly will be Mazio (and Fantastical Spark), which will hone in on Yosuke’s weakness to electricity. He’ll also use Forbidden Murmur to inflict poison as well, which lasts 2 turns.

    Just remember to heal often (I had a Persona with Media, along with Yukiko who also had Media), and if Yukiko has Agilao, that does decent damage (over 100). As long as you don’t get sloppy and take risks in the solo fight with Shadow Kanji, you’ll slowly whittle away his health.

    The last date to save Kanji is June 4th, so make sure you don’t leave it too late.

  • The Lounge Is Closed

     

    Rescue Rise Kujikawa

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    After trading information with the paparazzi by the river in the Samegawa Flood Plains (on the 25th June, the day after you start looking for information), you’ll gain access to Rise’s dungeon, the Marukyu Sriptease.

    On the 11th floor of the Marukyu Striptease you’ll find Shadow Rise, who you have to beat to save Rise Kujikawa. It can be a tricky fight if you come in slightly underleveled like I did, but that was for a reason - so that I could get the most out of Rise’s battle lines next month when hunting for the Hardcore Risette Fan trophy_bronze.png  trophy. If you’re interested, I was a level 32, when you should ideally be a level 35.

    In terms of attacks, Shadow Rise isn’t too hard. She casts a lot of fire spells and also casts Fire Break a lot, so if you have Fire immune Personas, use them (I rotated between Hua Po and Senri, meaning my main character was effectively immune to her attacks).

    While she might be using fire attacks, she’s not actually immune to them. So debuff Shadow Rise with Rakunda if you have it, and get Chie to buff Yukiko (especially if she has Agilao at this point).

    It’s key that you have some kind of cure Panic or a few Amrita Sodas for this fight too, as Shadow Rise’s Mind Slice can easily inflict Panic.

    At the supposed halfway point, Shadow Rise will cast Supreme Insight, which makes her invincible. This is your time to heal your whole party and buff, whilst also guarding.

    At this point the fight breaks off and you’ll have to finish off the fight against Shadow Teddie instead.
    The Shadow Teddie fight is actually much tougher, but fear not, you’ll start with full HP and SP for this fight, which is a massive help. If you die though, you have to beat Rise all over again, so don’t take too many risks - which can be tricky, as he has an insane amount of health.

    First things first, Shadow Teddie absorbs ice. So don’t use ice attacks. At all. It’s also handy to have a Persona with Dekunda here too, as he’ll drop your defence very often. Casting Dekunda means he wastes a turn every few turns.
    Now, the key here is two-part. 1. When he uses Mind Charge, get everyone to guard. And watch out for Foolish Whisper, which inflicts Silence. And 2. When he lifts his paw and charges up, you actually have 1 turn before you need to guard, so make use of it. If everyone is guarding when he uses Nihil Hand, you’ll all block it.

    And finally, another few bits of note: watch out for Nullity Guidance, which dizzies one of your party for a turn; and remember, status ailments only last 2 turns.

    It’s a long fight, one of attrition, but if you play it carefully, you can beat both Shadow Rise and Shadow Teddie with relative ease. Even if you’re underleveled.

    The last date to save Rise Kujikawa is July 9th, so make sure you’ve done it by then.

  • Game Over

     

    Secure Mitsuo Kubo

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    Towards the end of July and the beginning of August, you’ll have to head into the TV to secure Mistuo Kubo. Before you get to fight him though, this dungeon is a little different than the previous ones, as you’ll need a key of sorts to get through the boss door on the 10th floor. You’ll find said key, AKA a Darkness Orb, on level 7, so don’t progress past that level before you have it.

    The Shadow Mitsuo Kubo can be found on the 10th floor. It’s a pretty interesting boss fight, in truth, and players will have to take down potentially numerous iterations of the Mitsuo the Hero avatar before they can deal damage to the giant baby, which is Shadow Mitsuo.

    The first stage then is a straight up fight with Mitsuo the Hero, who will have 2 attacks per turn, that are either: a.) a normal attack, and b.) a bomb, which does damage and causes Exhaustion - if you have someone with Nervundi (or Energy Shower) or Royal Jelly from Shiroku, you can use it here.

    Use Dekunda to drop his defence and get Chie to boost whoever with Tarukaja. And just attack, with Yukiko healing when necessary.

    Once the shell is down, you’ll get to attack Shadow Mitsuo himself. Use a similar approach to this as you did the previous stage (Rakunda and Tarukaja (obviously if you have Matarukaja, that’s even better), but with a few changes.
    Firstly, his wall attack will tell you what elemental attack is coming - if it’s a white wall, for instance, it’ll mean ice attacks are coming. If he strikes a weakness and gets another go, he’ll drop Megidola and do some decent damage. So, if it’s an ice attack incoming, guard with Yukiko every turn to avoid this.

    After a few goes it’ll start to rebuild its shell and throw some status ailments your way - there’s no chance you’ll stop him from rebuilding, just keep dealing damage so that he can’t do this a second time, and cure the ailments. Also, as an FYI, as soon as the ice wall or whichever wall wears off, he’ll stop using elemental spells, so whoever can stop guarding now.

    The second Hero avatar phase is much stronger than the first, as it’ll add Gigadyne into the mix, which does big damage. Treat it very much like the first, but with more emphasis on healing. Just make sure your Persona doesn’t have a lightning weakness and you should be okay.

    The last day to secure Mitsuo is August 12th, so don’t leave it too late, especially if you need to level up - we went in as a 38 and struggled. As a 45 though, we breezed through it on our first try.

  • Boarded-Up Lab

     

    Rescue Naoto Shirogane

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    During late September, and early October, you’ll have to head into Naoto’s secret dungeon lab, and rescue them.
    Before you get access to where Naoto is, you’ll have to jump through a few hoops. There’ll be a door on the 4th floor that you need an ID to open. You can find said ID on the 6th floor. When you have it, head back up to the 4F and open the door. Once in there, beat the Dominating Machine, get the Leader ID from the chest and the back and then head back to the 6th floor. You’ll be able to proceed without a hitch now to 9F, where Shadow Naoto will be.

    Shadow Naoto is perhaps the easiest and most straightforward boss of the lot, although her closing moments could be tricky if you’re not of a sufficient level - or don’t have Dekaja. The expected level for this boss fight is around level 55.

    Shadow Naoto, who is resistant to fire, has a number of moves. It can silence members of your party with Mute Ray, and nullify all elemental resistance with Element Zero. For the most part though, it’ll target your weaknesses in the part - using other moves such as Brave Blade.

    Later on in the fight, watch out for Galgalim Eyes which reduces a party member to 1HP, with a chance to inflict Enervation. It’ll often cast Debilitate too (as well as Dekaja to nullify your boosts), and as you get to the closing stages, it’ll buff itself across the board with Heat Riser. If you have one member with Dekaja or Purifying Water, you can nullify its effects for a turn, but it will cast it again next turn, so be aware of that.

    From your perspective, pretty much using Rakunda to drop her defence, having Chie buff your party’s attack damage, while Yukiko heals is most of the battle. If Chie is a high enough level, and has access to Power Charge, that can come in handy with some melee attacks/moves too. To be honest, this is the easiest and most straightforward of the bosses thus far, so you shouldn’t have too many issues.

    The last date to save Naoto is October 5th, so make sure you’re all done and dusted by then.

  • The Return of the Angels

     

    Rescue Nanako Dojima

    Story-related, cannot miss.

    From November 6th, you’ll have to investigate Nanako’s disappearance, and head into the TV, namely “Heaven,” to save her. Make your way through her dungeon and beat the final boss and save Nanako.

    Nanako's dungeon, Heaven, is one of the more straightforward dungeons. You basically just need to climb to the top. No obstacles or ID cards needed here, however, there is a boss on the 7th floor, who randomly targets weaknesses and does insane damage, so be careful of it.

    The dungeon boss fight can be found on Paradise #10, and you'll face off against Kunino-sagiri, who can be a mean fight if you're not of a certain level - we were a 62, with our party around a 58 and 69. Kunino-sagiri himself is level 65.

    The first stage of this fight is relatively straightforward, with him just casting heavy damage dealing elemental spells. Just buff with Chie, heal with Yukiko, and deal damage with your main character and Naoto.

    The second stage, around 75% health, is where it gets tricky. When he casts Quad Converge, it amps a certain element. The damage he can deal here is insane, so be careful. It's always worth guarding the first round, to see which element it is. That way you can protect whoever has that elemental weakness (if he's using ice, Yukiko needs to block; if he's using fire, Chie will need to block).

    Magic Mirrors can be handy in this round if you have enough of them handy, as can Makarakarn too (which also reflects magic). The Quad Converge status in the atmosphere usually lasts around 3 turns, when things will briefly return to normal, before he does it again with a different element. For us, it went: wind, electric and then fire (he didn't get chance to get to ice), so maybe it's the same every playthrough.

    The next phase actually isn't as bad as the Quad Converge stage. In this stage Kunino-sagiri will take control over your party members. Just make sure you have a Persona equipped with good physical resistance, and you can ride it out with healing items and guarding.

    The next stage is the Uneering Justice stage, which is an AOE attack which does solid damage (around 200 per character at my level). That's easy enough to follow-up with Yukiko's heals, even if she only has Mediarama, and not Mediarahan.

    Meanwhile, your main character and Naoto, with Chie chipping in and buffing, should be whittling down the boss' health. It's a bit of a long slog this, but if you can get past the Quad Converge stage, you should be okay. Just keep Yukiko on healing every single turn and you should be okay.

    The last day to save Nanako is November 20th.

  • Breaking Through the Fog

     

    Secure Tohru Adachi

    Story-related, **missable**

    Early on in December, you’ll have to make some key decisions to get access to Adachi’s dungeon, and bring him to justice. In order to get access, and to accuse Adachi, you’ll need to do a few things first:
    • Firstly, don’t throw Namatame into the TV. On December 3rd, say the following options:
      • “Wait a second here…”
      • “We're missing something.”
      • “Namatame's true feelings.”
      • “Something's bothering me.”
      • “We're missing something…”
      • “Calm the hell down!”
    • Then, on December 5th, when it gives you the option, accuse Adachi. 
    Once you’ve done that, you’ll have access to Magatsu Inaba, the final main dungeon of the game. You might have until December 26th to finish it, but it’s best to secure him on December 22nd, if you want to see all the story beats; and also if you don’t want to skip some time - doing so earlier will zoom you forward to the 23rd of December. If you’re going for other trophies, like the Compulsive Reader, Hardcore Risette Fan and all the Social Links, this time could prove valuable.
     

    Magatsu Inaba is an interesting dungeon. When you get to the second floor, you’ll come across a door that’s sealed, that you won't be able to open. To open it you need to drop down the hole in the middle of the map, which takes you to Magatsu Mandala World. In that offshoot of a dungeon you’ll have to beat 2 bosses: one on the 3rd floor (use party attack buffs to be able to clear the floor in one turn); and one on the 6th floor.

    Quick note: on the 3rd floor, make sure you’re not seen by a shadow (i.e. get into a fight), because if you are Adachi will boot you out the dungeon and you’ll have to go through all the Magatsu Mandala levels again to get back to the 3rd floor.

    Once you’ve beaten both bosses, you can then return to the Magatsu Inaba’s 2F door, giving you access to the Adachi fight.

    Adachi is incredibly simple. Just debuff his defence with Rakunda, and then go to town on him, with Yukiko healing periodically. Use Chie to buff with Tarukaja too. Chie using Power Charge and then God’s Hand is very handy here as well.

    In terms of moves Adachi will use: Heat Riser (use Purifying Water on him to counteract); Mudoon; Evil Smile (use Yukiko’s Salvation to cure the party); Maziodyne and Vorpal Blade (and a few more). It’s actually a really easy fight, especially if your party is around level 75/76, which they should be at this point. That’s not it though…

    Ameno-sagiri is the big fight, the actual main boss fight. And the worst part is that if he kills you, you’ll have to start from the beginning of the floor again - meaning you’ll have to beat Adachi again too. Ugh.

    Unlike Adachi, who has 1 turn per round. Ameno-sagiri has 2. The first stage is relatively straightforward: debuff his defence, buff your team, do damage where you can. Yukiko should be healing every turn. Without fail.

    Ameno-sagiri has a ton of different attacks: 

    • Ziodyne; Garudyen; Agidyne or Bufudyne (plus the group hitting equivalents)
    • Various stat debuffing spells, if the elemental spells hit a weakness on your party - use Purifying Salt to nullify this
    • Foolish Whisper, which causes Silence (use Yukiko’s Salvation to cure that… However, if she gets Silenced, use a Hiranya or a Amrita Soda on her)
    • God’s Judgement (which deals decent damage to one player)
    • Nebula Opus (decent damage to all players)
    • Agneyastra (heavy Physical damage to all foes 1-3 times)

    Stage 2 happens when you get it down to 50% health, and always kicks off the same way: Bewildering Fog, some stat buffs and then Mind Charge. It then does a devastating version of one of its main attacks (usually Nebula Opus). I’d guard it all out all the way, just to be safe, as you can do no damage here anyway. Just make sure your party has full health and focus on what happens after his Mind Charged attack.

    Stage 2 is similar to stage 1, but Ameno-sagiri uses Quake as well. And periodically uses the aforementioned Bewildering Fog combo.

    Be careful with the Mind Charged Nebula Opus, and you should be okay in stage 2. You 100% have to block that attack otherwise it could potentially be game over.

    In stage 2 it also uses Dekunda (which wastes a turn) and Galgalim Eyes (drops health down to 1 for 1 character and gives them Enervation). If you buff someone in this phase too, he’ll also cast Dekaja and Dekunda. Meaning, you can waste his goes by using 2 of your 4 characters to buff you and debuff him. Genius.

    And once you get it down to 0%, it’s done and dusted. The last main boss is killed. The rest from here is optional, but not if you want all the trophies, of course.

  • Welcome Back

     

    Rescue Marie

    Story-related **missable**

    Marie and her dungeon, which is where you rescue her from, is Persona 4 Golden’s extra story dungeon (in the same way that Kasumi Yoshizawa’s palace was in Persona 5 Royal). All you need to do to unlock the Hollow Forest is to make sure you’ve maxed out Marie’s Social Link by December 21st (you can do it slightly later, but you’ll miss some cool story cutscenes if you do).

    If you do that, you’ll automatically gain access to the Hollow Forest if you make it past Adachi and into January. Unlike other dungeons in Persona 4 Golden, there is no deadline per se here, all you need to know is that you have 1 day to complete the dungeon… and that’s the day you get access to it. So, you literally can’t delay on this one!

  • The Truth In Your Hands

     

    Defeat Izanami

    Izanami is the actual final boss of the True Ending of Persona 4 Golden. However, the game will try to trick you into not fighting or even seeking out this elusive enemy. There are a ton of things that you’ll need to make this fight happen, and while not rocket science, you have to be very meticulous to make it happen.

    Here's what you need to do:
    • First things first, you need to extend the game past the end of December. In order to do that you’ll have to not throw Namatame into the TV. On December 3rd, say the following options:
      • “Wait a second here…”
      • “We're missing something.”
      • “Namatame's true feelings.”
      • “Something's bothering me.”
      • “We're missing something…”
      • “Calm the hell down!”
    • Then, on December 5th, accuse Adachi. And then take him down.
    • You can do the optional dungeon if you like, with Marie, and gain access to the Hollow Forest, but it doesn't change the outcome of the ending.
    Then finally, on March 20th, do the following:
    • Talk to all maxed out Social Links.
    • When the game asks whether you want to go home, say “No.”
    • Then, head to Junes and click on the elevator. When they ask you to go home, say “no.”
    • Click the elevator again and go to the food court.
    • Next, go to the Samegawa Flood Plain and talk to Dojima and Nanako. Say "I want to talk to you."
    • Go the Velvet Room, speak to Igor. Say, "There's one last thing..."
    • Then, finally, exit the Velvet Room and talk to the guy outside the gas station, and say "Isn't this where I first..." and then ask questions about Adachi/Namatame, then "Have you met those two?", then "Did you do anything to them?", then "What did you do to me?", then "Did you give me the power?". After you've chatted some more with the attendant, you'll unlock the final dungeon, and the route to Izanami.
    If you’ve already got the True Ending and this is your second playthrough and have beaten all optional bosses, you can return to the Velvet Room after speaking to Igor and fight Margaret before fighting Izanami if you want.

    You don’t really need to do a lot of preparation for this fight, just be at a decent level - around 85-90. I went in as a level 80, which was kind of risky, but after fusing the Trumpeter, and getting the Debilitate Skill Card, I was confident that our party could do it. And I was right. Izanami, by the way, is level 90. So we were probably a touch underleveled.

    In order to get to Izanami, you first have to fight through the Yomotsu Hirasaka Path dungeon. It’s a 9 level dungeon, with bosses on the 3rd and 6th floors, and Izanami on the 9th floor.

    The key to the Izanami fight is quite simply debuffing her and buffing your squad. It’s like that in pretty much every boss encounter in Persona, but more so in the Izanami fight, especially if you’re underleveled.

    There are 2 stages to Izanami. The first stage is a cakewalk. Firstly, she’ll only get 1 turn per round, which is massive, and when she does, she usually just casts Maziodyne and Megidolaon. Every so often she will Mind Charge, and you’ll want to guard the attack that comes from it.

    When you’ve gotten through her health, the fight will turn into a stalemate, where you can’t do damage to her. The game will say “Izanami seems impervious,” and at this point, you’ll just have to block it out for a few turns. At some point you’ll recall what Igor said to you: “That is a crystal of power…” which will kick off phase 2… the actual proper fight.

    Phase 2 is a bit of a slog. It’s absolutely key that you’re debuffing Izanami - especially if you’re a lower level. Debilitate is key, or anything that brings down her attack (and her defence if you can). You should also have a full-time healer here too. Yukiko with Salvation is great, but you’ll absolutely need SP items to assist.

    This phase has many moving parts - and phases within the phase. Straight out the gate she’ll Mind Charge and screw you over with Marakunda and the like. It’s important to guard through this part of the fight, until the fight settles into more of a rhythm. When it does: use Purifying Salt to cancel out her debuffs on your party.

    In terms of attacks, she essentially has two main ones for now:

    • Fury of Yasogami - hits party with Physical, does decent damage
    • Kuro Ikazuchi - again, another party attack (which looks like electric, but not sure it hits that way)

    The fight should basically go, at this point: You debilitate, then buff, have someone attack and someone heal. She casts both of her spells. Then you use a heavy/severe magic/physical attack, buff, more attacks, and heal. That’s the pattern for a significant amount of time.

    At some point she’ll change tacts, and she’ll use elemental spells like Bufudyne, which if it hits a weakness she casts Dekaja. She’ll also hit one of your party with Galgalim Eyes (which reduces them to 1 HP and gives them the Enervation status).

    Again, use Purifying Salt to counteract Debilitate, and if you get a chance, cure the Enervation status ailment - although we’re sure you can’t at this point, and it’s just teaching you a lesson. The lesson being that her Summons to Yomi ability is devastating and kills anyone with Enervation.

    It’s at this point the fight gets wild! WILD! She’ll use Stagnant Air and Mind Charge. You have to, and I repeat, absolutely have to guard any Mind Charged attacks in this phase. Because if not, you’re done for. What follows a Mind Charge is World’s End and then Summons to Yomi, and if any of your party doesn’t block they’re done for.

    The next few cycles of turns basically goes as follows: she casts Stagnant Air and Mind Charge, you Guard, then she casts World’s End and Summons to Yomi. You will literally have to guard every other turn, and with your round after Summons to Yomi, you’ll attack and heal. It’s the only way to not risk everything.

    When she gets to the last sliver of health, she’ll get desperate. Just fully heal every turn, make sure she’s debilitated, and block whenever she Mind Charges and you’ll get through it. When she casts the Thousand Curses spell it’s the end of the fight, so don’t worry. The rest is story-related. You’ve won! Congrats!

    The trophy will pop when the day flicks over to March 21st.

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